Mathematical Analysis of Biological Interaction Networks

The Banff International Research Station will host the "Mathematical Analysis of Biological Interaction Networks" workshop from June 4th to June 9th, 2017.

Mathematics has emerged as a pivotal player in analyzing complex biological interaction systems, and is a cornerstone of current systems biology research.

The interaction networks governing critical cellular functions are often extremely complex, consisting of dozens of proteins, enzymes and metabolites interacting via hundreds of interdependent reactions. Further, these systems can be operating at scales in which the counts of the representative chemical species are in the single digits, up to scales in which the constituent species have very high abundances and, instead of counts, only their concentrations can be measured.

This conference will bring together mathematical researchers from many fields, including dynamical systems, control theory, stochastic processes, algebraic geometry, analysis, optimization, and computation. The aims will be to (i) present newly developed mathematical methods capable of analyzing complex biological interaction networks, and (ii) establish basic principles which govern the dynamical behavior of biochemical systems such as signaling pathways, gene regulatory networks, and enzymatic cascades. The focus will be on both stochastic and deterministic models, since stochastic models are needed when the counts of the constituent species are relatively low, and deterministic models are needed when the counts are sufficiently high.

The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disc iplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineeri ng Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT).

BIRS Scientific Director, Nassif Ghoussoub
E-mail: birs-director[@]birs.ca
http://www.birs.ca/~nassif